Many elementary age children take physical education as part of their academic curriculum. In this regard, throughout a typical school day of a child he/she has a physical education (also referred to as “PE”) class intermixed with his/her academic classes.
Typical PE classes focus entirely on physical activities that help a child learn the skills to be active in life. For example, PE classes teach fundamental locomotor skills, such as walking, running, hopping, jumping and skipping. In addition PE classes may also focus on nonlocomotor skills such as turning, twisting, swinging, balancing and bending. Addition physical activities in PE class may focus on teaching manipulative skills, such as catching, dribbling, throwing, or kicking. Other types of activities may include those directed toward improving gross/fine motor skills, eye hand coordination, spatial awareness, and agility/balance.